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Living With Breast Cancer

  • Review of 2012 Research

    Posted 6/11/2013 by hhill
      Think of this as a companion piece to yesterday's entry about the basic biology of breast cancer. This is an interview with Dr Eric Winer and Dr Shom Goal about recent research and directions as we move further into 2013. Frankly, nothing in this piece is brand new information, but it is a very nice summary and captures the many areas of interest. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Breast Cancer Primer

    Posted 6/10/2013 by hhill
      This interview with Larry Norton, MD of Memorial Sloan Kettering, published in MedScape, is an excellent overview of breast cancer. If you have ever wondered about the basics of breast cancer biology and treatment, spending a few minutes with Dr Norton will be time well spent. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Radiation without More Surgery Sometimes OK

    Posted 6/4/2013 by hhill
      This report from ASCO may be the beginnings of a game changer for some women with early breast cancer. A study from The Netherlands Cancer Institute found that some women with a positive sentinel lymph node who went on to radiation therapy without the intermmediate step of a full axillary dissection did just as well as women who had another surgery. If this results holds up in other studies, it could save many women more surgical time an the increased risk of lymphedema that comes from a full axillary dissection. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Prophylactic Mastectomies

    Posted 5/9/2013 by hhill
      I have written before about the increasing incidence of prophylactic bilateral mastectomies for women with early breast cancer who "only" need surgery on one side. It is terrifying to hear the cancer word, and most of us are frantic to do whatever we can to protect ourselves now and to insure our future good health. For some women, that translates to a strong wish to "get rid" of the other breast, a possible source of another crisis in the future. It may not be soothing to be told that the future risk of a second cancer in the other breast is very small, about 1% per year, and that breast cancer almost never goes to the other breast. The worries of cancer spreading are that it might metastisize to another part of the body; removing the second breast does nothing to minimize that risk. Read more... Comments (0)

  • New Techniques for Lymphedema

    Posted 5/7/2013 by hhill
      The really good news is that more attention is being paid to lymphedema and surgeons are increasingly willing to acknowledge that it happens, and that women should be educated about the possibilities even prior to surgery. The not so good news is that it continues to happen, that it is impossible to predict who will develop this problem, and that it is treatable, but not curable. The statistics re incidence are all over the place, so no one seems to really know how many women have been affected. Read more... Comments (0)
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330 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
617-667-1900

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About the Blogger

Hester Hill Schnipper, LICSW, OSW-C is the Manager of Oncology Social Work at BIDMC. For more than thirty years, her daily work at BIDMC has been primarily focused on supporting women with breast cancer. A nationally known writer and speaker, she was the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's first Hatcher Survivorship Professor. In 1993, and again in 2005, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through the standard treatments of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy. These experiences have given her great credibility with her patients and transformed her life's work to her life. Ms. Schnipper lives gratefully with her husband in an ancient farmhouse outside of Boston and spends as much time as possible in a water front cottage on Mt Desert Island. Between them, they have five adult children and seven grandchildren; she claims biological responsibility for two and three of them.

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